The 10 Best Things about Montpellier

Passion-fruit sorbet shaped like a flower in an ice cream cone. Aside from how pretty it looks, it has a sweet-tart tang that makes the world seem like a happier place. And it reminds me of Hawaiian Punch, a favorite beverage when I was young.

The English Book Shop on the Rue de la Bras Fer, crammed with English language books of all sorts and offering tea, coffee, soft drinks and assorted goodies. It’s also where a small mob of native English speakers and a polyglot mix of others eager to practice their English skills cram a downstairs room every Friday from 5 to 7 pm.

The limestone paving in a small pocket of streets in the Ecusson—the old city. The Rue de l’ Ancien Courier and others nearby are narrow and twisty, filled with history and crammed with cute little boutiques. The Rue du Bras de Fer even has one of the few remaining original arches crossing the street, which is actually a series of wide shallow steps.

Tuesday evening organ practice at St. Michel’s church just around the corner from my apartment.

The colorful trams, with paint jobs designed by the likes of Christian La Croix. In fact, the public transit as a whole is pretty great. A 10-trip ticket for the tram costs 10€. Ditto, a 10-trip ticket for the regional bus system, which will get you the 20 minutes away to the Mediterranean beaches or 40 minutes to the gorges and mountains of the Cevennes.

The Monoprix, where you can buy “une cannette du Coca Light” for 0€89. Plus, it’s actually cold and not just slightly chilled as most soft drinks in France and Germany are.

The fedoras. Everyone–male or female, young or old—wears them.

The trompe l’oeil buildings. I had to go up to and touch this building before I understood that it really is just one big flat wall.

A cold Monaco—a frothy pink concoction of beer, grenadine and either lemonade or lemon-lime soda. Probably too sweet for real beer dinkers’ taste,but surprisingly good on a hot afternoon.

The quirky bicycle art scattered around the city. I’ve spotted one emerging from a staircase, three whole bikes emerging from a wall two stories up and one with half the bike on one building and the other across the alley. I’ll bet there are lots more in the outer sections of the city.

Huck: I actually didn’t like Montpellier. But I was working hard to be positive and find the good stuff about it!
I’ll be back in the US for three weeks shortly. But my house in Baltimore is on the market and I’m headed back to Europe at least through Jan. 1, probably longer. Sicily in August. Malaga, Spain in Sept. then to Germany for the fall and early winter. That’s when I’ll start teaching.
Come visit!